Utmost’s Mark Jephcott has called for the government to overhaul the UK’s tax regime before reinstating a ‘golden visa’ scheme to attract high net worth individuals to the UK.
The senior relationship manager issued a comment in light of the Labour government tabling proposals to revive the scheme that was scrapped four years ago amid concerns about dirty money from Russia.
Under the proposals individuals who invest £5m in British businesses could become UK citizens in as little as five years.
Jephcott said: “While a revamped investor visa to attract globally mobile wealthy individuals would be welcome, ultimately, for the UK to capitalise on interest from HNWs looking to relocate and invest, it needs to offer a far more attractive tax regime alongside this, which plays a central role in relocation decisions.
“This is particularly important as the battleground for global talent and HNWs is fierce, with jurisdictions such as Italy and Switzerland successfully attracting global wealth by offering competitive tax regimes. In contrast, the UK’s appeal among the wealthy has waned following the abolition of the non-dom regime in the Autumn 2024 Budget, alongside the ever-expanding scope of inheritance tax.”
